CTA prototype telescope, ASTRI, achieves first light

During the nights of 25 and 26 May, the camera of the ASTRI telescope prototype recorded its first ever Cherenkov light while undergoing testing at the astronomical site of Serra La Nave (Mount Etna) in Sicily managed by INAF-Catania. This comes not long after its optical validation was achieved in November 2016. This accomplishment was the first optical demonstration for astronomical telescopes using the novel Schwarzschild Couder dual-mirror design. The ASTRI telescope is a proposed small-sized telescope design for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA).